Wireless communication devices are commonly used to browse the Internet, transmit files, stream music and video, and perform other tasks that involve wirelessly receiving data from a network. The user experience is improved when such data transmissions occur quickly, and thus network operators and device manufacturers strive to improve data throughput.
One technique for improving data throughput between devices uses multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology. In a MIMO configuration, devices can have multiple transmitting antennas and/or multiple receiving antennas, such that multiple data streams can be sent between the multiple antennas over the same radio channel. As each data stream can have substantially the same capacity for transmitting data, increasing the number of data streams can accordingly increase the amount of data that can be transmitted, thereby improving throughput. However, there is a risk that some of the MIMO data streams may not be properly decoded at the receiving device due to interference, noise, or other issues.